Brake lining coating device



y 2 1957 EQJOHNS EIAL BRAKE LINiNG comma DEVICE Filed. March 1, 1954 25 Fig.3

NVQTOR? 4&1 M

HIS ATTORNEYS I United States Patent BRAKE LINING COATING DEVICE Edward Johns and Harry C. Falck, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application March 1, 1954, Serial No. 412,992 7 Claims. (Cl. 118-222) This invention relates to apparatus for applying bonding adhesive to brake linings for vehicles.

One method utilized in the past has been to paint the bonding adhesive on the brake linings by hand. This method, of course, is very slow and is not conducive to a good coating job. In addition the task is unpleasant since a certain amount of slopping and dripping of the bonding adhesive is inevitable.

Another method has been devised wherein a pair of spaced power-driven applicator wheels having their lower section immersed in a glue pot are utilized. The operator must guide the lining over the applicator wheels accurately by hand while the applicator wheels are rotating. This method is more satisfactory than the aforementioned method in that it is faster, eliminates some of the sloppings and drippings, and produces a more consistent coating job. This method still is deficient, however, in that some slopping and dripping cannot be avoided, only about eight hundred linings can be coated in an eight hour day, and since thehuman element is involved, the coating jobs cannot be consistent.

It is a main object of this invention to provide an improved means for coating vehicle brake linings.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved means for coating vehicle brake linings which is simple, inexpensive and positive in operation.

More specifically it is an object of this invention to provide a feeding and aligning attachment for use with power driven lining coating machines which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art methods.

The objects stated above are merely illustrative. These and other objects will become more apparent from a study of the following specification and accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view'ot the assembled apparatus,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken through the applicator wheels and glue pot,

Fig. 3 shows a plan view of the assembled apparatus, and

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a brake lining.

With particular reference to Figure 1, the numeral refers to the supporting structure for the coating apparatus. An arm 11 is fixed to the supporting structure 10 for pivotally mounting a shelf 13 at 12. An electric motor 14 is carried on the shelf 13. The supporting structure also carries a glue pct 15 and a rotatable applicator shaft 16. A pair of knurled applicator wheels 17 and 17' are mounted on the applicator shaft 16 for rotation therewith and in such a manner as to have their lower segments extending into the gluepot 15. The knurled applicator wheel 17 is mounted on the applicator shaft 16 so that it may be moved longitudinally with respect to the shaft on the threaded portion 16' to permit adjustment of the space between the two applicator wheels for the purpose of coating brake linings of different width.

A Pinion 1.8 isifix to one end of the. shaft. of the stat and a mi lion 1. istised toqu end ef-the an- A substantially U-shaped guide member 20 has'its opposite ends fixed to the glue pot 15 which is'mounted on the supporting structure 10 so that the U-shaped guide member 20 is rigidly fixed in inverted relation to the supporting member 10. The U-shaped guide member 20 is positioned such that its vertex is spaced a slight distance above the periphery of the knurled applicator wheels 17 and 17 and its inner guide face 21 is adjacent the applicator wheel 17' but displaced a slight distance along the longitudinal axis of the applicator shaft 16 away from the applicator wheel 17. Thus, the U-shaped guide member 20 has its guide face 21 located in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the knurled applicator wheels 17 and 17 and which is spaced a slight distance from the applicator wheel 17' along that axis of rotation and away from the applicator wheel 17.

The arrangement of the U-shaped guide member 20 with respect to the knurled applicator wheels 17 and 17' just described, is such that the inner guide face 21 can be used to guide a brake lining B (such as that shown in Figure 4) over the knurled applicator wheels by hand. Previous to the present invention, this was one method of coating the brake lining. That is, the brake lining was pressed tightly against the inner guide face 21 of the U-shaped guide member 20 and fed across the knurled applicator wheels 17 and 17' such that the concave side of said lining contacted the two applicator wheels at all times and a coating of adhesive was applied as at a and a. As has been previously pointed out, this method produces uneven strip portions and is rather slow (only about eight hundred coatings can be made in an eight hour day).

The present invention consists of new and novel feeding and aligning apparatus and the application of the apparatus to a machine of the type just described. The use of the apparatus disclosed herein enables an operator to coat at least four hundred brake linings an hour and produce consistently good coating jobs with an even application of the adhesive strips a and a as shown in Figure 4. The use of the apparatus disclosed herein also permits tear down for cleaning in a matter of seconds and almost instantaneous adjustment to coat brake linings of different sizes. These considerations are of prime importance where mass production is involved.

The invention utilizes a slotted channel-shaped adjusting "support member 22 which is rigidly fixed to the supporting structure 10 with its horizontal axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the knurled applicator wheels. A second substantially U-shaped guide member 23, which has an inner guide face 24, and which has one end adjustably fixed to the adjusting support member 22 by the wing nut 25 in the slot 26. The opposite end of the U-shaped guide member 23 frictionally engages a scale 27 which is fixed to the supporting structure 10. The U-shaped guide 23 is thus held in an inverted relationship with respect to the supporting structure 10 and has its inner guide face 24 opposed to the inner guide face 21 of the U-shaped guide member 20 and the distance between the two guide faces is clearly indicated on the scale 27 (see Figure 3).

The shaft guide screw-downs 28 and 28 are mounted at the vertex of the U-shaped guide members 20 and 23 respectively. The shaft guide screw-down 28 is removably mounted in position by means of the angle 29 and the set screw 30. The angle extends beneath .the

a U-shaped guide member 20 and the set screw -30 screws.

p t c p h sh t ide serewadown 8 to the U-shaped guide member 20. The shaft guide screwdown 28' may be fixed to the U-shaped guide member 23 I V in any convenient manner.

An idler shaft 39 has its opposite ends mounted in slots in the shaft guide screw-downs 28 and 28. One endof the idler shaft 39 is threaded as at 31 and take up nuts 32 are provided to adjust the effective length of the idler shaft 39in accordance with the distance between the U-shaped guide members 20 and 23 (i. e., in accordance'with the width of the particular series of brake linings that is to be processed). A pressure spring 33 is held between the pressure adjusting screw 34 and the bearing plate 35 in the slot in the shaft guide screw-down 28. The bearing plate 35 bears against the idler shaft 39. i In like manner the slot in the shaft guide screwdown 28' holds a pressure spring 33' betweenthe pressure adjusting screw 34' and the bearing plate 35' which in turn rests upon the-idler shaft 39. The requisite holddown pressure is applied to the idler shaft 39 by the pressure springs 33 and 33.

A pressure roller 36 which is preferably knurled is mounted for rotation upon the idler shaft 39 and is' positioned midway between the two U -shaped guide members 20 and 23 by the tapped collars 37 and 37' also mounted on the idler shaft. A lateral splash or drip collector inwardly-concave or bent shield plate 40 is shown fixed to the U-shaped guide member 20 and extending toward the other U-shaped guide member 23 at the delivery end of the device for catching and returning excess glue to the glue pot 15.

In operation, a brake lining such as B is simply .posi tioued between theinner guide faces 21 and 24 of the U-shaped guide members 20 and 23 respectively and under the pressure roller 36 and the applicator wheels 17 and 17' and as a consequence will he pulled through with its concave surface held in contact with the knurled applicator wheels 17 and 17' at all times. This applies two perfect strips of adhesive a and a to the lining B (see Figure 4). In Figures 1 and 3 the lining B is shown almost through the machine and Figure 2 shows the position of the lining B between the pressure roller 36 and applicator wheels 17 and 17' and also between the guide faces 21 and 24 of the guide support members 20 and 23 respectively.

In order to readjust the U-shaped guide members 20 and 23 to operate upon the brake linings of different widths, the take up nuts 32 at the end of the idler shaft 39 and the wing nut 25 are simply loosened, the U-shaped guide member is moved until the end adjacent the scale 27 is in the proper position as indicated on the scale, and

the take up nuts 32 and the wing nut 25 are tightened again. The U-shaped guide members then will be rigidly held the proper distance apart, and the applicator isreacly for operation.

In order to dismantle for cleaning, it is only necessary to remove the wing nut 25 which fixes the U-shaped guide member 23 to its adjusting support member 22 and loosen the Set screw 30 which clamps the shaft guide screw-down 28 to the U-shaped guide member 20 and the entire attachment may be removed. There are no extra parts or springs under tension to give difficulty or get lost.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus for facilitating the application of bonding adhesive to brake linings by power driven applicator wheels mounted upon a supporting structure, which applicator wheels are spaced apart along a common rotational axis and have their lower segments immersed in a glue pot comprising, an adjusting support member rigidly fixed to the supporting structure and having its horizontal axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the applicator wheels, first and second substantially U-shaped guide members having inner guide faces, said first U-shaped guide member having its opposite ends fixed to opposite sides of the supporting structure in such a manner that said first U-shaped guide member is inverted with respect thereto and .has its inner guide face located ina plane perpendicular to the axis ofrotation of said applicator wheels, said second U-shaped guide member having one end adjustably and removably fixed to said adjusting support member in such a manner that said second U-shaped guide member is inverted with respect to the supporting structure and its inner guide face opposes the inner guide face of said first vU-shaped guide member, a first shaft guide means removably mounted on said first U-shaped guide member at its vertex, and a second shaft guide means mounted on said second U-shaped guide 1 member at its vertex, a pressure roller, and a shaft, said pressure roller rotatably mounted upon said shaft, and said shaft being supported in said first and second shaft guide mean-s to position said pressure roller between said U-shaped guide members for frictional engagement with a brake lining passing over the applicator wheels.

2. Apparatus for facilitating the application of bonding adhesive to brake linings by power driven applicator wheels mounted upon a supporting structure, which applicator wheels are spaced apart along a common rotational axis and have their lower segments immersed in a glue pot comprising, an adjusting support member rigidly fixed to the supporting structure and having its horizontal axis parallel to the axis of rotation ofthe applicator wheels, first and second substantially U-shaped guide members having inner guide faces, said first U-shaped guide member having its opposite ends fixed to opposite sides of the supporting structure in such a manner that said first U-shaped guide member is inverted with respect thereto and has its inner guide face rotated in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said applicator wheels, said second U-shaped guide member having one end adjustably and removably fixed to said adjusting support member in such a manner that said second U-shaped guide member is inverted with respect to the supporting structure and its. inner guide face opposes the inner guide face of said first; U-shapcd guide member, a splash guard fixed to at least one of said U-shaped guide members and extending toward the other U-shaped guide member to catch splashings of glue and return the glue so caught to the glue pot, a first shaft guide means 'remova'bly mounted on said first U-shaped guide member substantially at its vertex, and a second shaft guide means mounted on said second U-shaped guide member substantially at its vertex, a pressure roller, and a shaft, said pressure roller rotatably mounted upon said shaft, and said shaft being supported in said first and-second shaft guide means to position said pressure roller between said U-shaped guide members for frictional engagement with a brake lining passing over the applicator wheels.

3. Apparatus for facilitating the application of bonding adhesive to brake linings by power driven spaced applicator wheels mounted upon a supporting structure, which applicator wheels are spaced apart along a common rotational axis and their lower segments are immersed in a glue pot comprising, an adjusting support member rigidly fixed to the supporting structure and having its hori-. zontal axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the applicator wheels, a graduated scale on said supporting structure, first and second substantially U-shaped guide members having inner guide faces, said first U-shaped guide member having its opposite ends fixed to opposite sides of the supporting structure in such a manner that said first U-shaped guide member is inverted with respect thereto and has its inner guide face located in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said applicator wheels, said second U-shaped guide member having one end adjustably. and removably fixed to said adjusting support member in such a manner that said second U-shaped guide member is inverted wtih respect to the supporting structure, the other end of said second U-shaped guide member being positioned to frictionally engage the opposite side of the supporting structure adjacent said graduher, afirst shaftguide means removably mounted on-said first U-shaped guide member at its vertex, and a second shaft guide means mounted on said second U-shaped guide member at its vertex, a pressure roller and a shaft, said pressure roller rotatably mounted upon said shaft, and said shaft being supported in said first and second shaft guide means to position said pressure roller between said U-shaped guide members for frictional engagement with a brake lining passing over the applicator wheels.

4. Apparatus for applying adhesive to arcuate sheet material including a supporting structure having a container for adhesive, an applicator wheel rotatably mounted over the container and having its lower segment immersed in the adhesive, an adjusting support member carried by the supporting structure, first and second substantially U-shaped guide members, the first guide member being fixed to the supporting structure in an inverted position and having an inner guide face in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the applicator wheel, the second guide member being adjustably fixed to the adjusting support member in an inverted position whereby its inner guide face opposes the inner guide face of the first guide member and whereby the second guide member can be moved toward and away from the first guide member, shaft guide means mounted at substantially the vertex of each of the U-shaped guide members, a shaft engaging the shaft guide means whereby at least one of said shaft guide means may be moved relatively to the shaft when the adjustably fixed guide member is moved, and a pressure roller mounted on the shaft between the guide members for frictional engagement with the sheet material passing over the applicator wheel.

5. Apparatus for applying adhesive to sheet material including a container for the adhesive, an applicator wheel rotatably mounted-over the container and having its lower segment immersed in the adhesive, an adjusting support memberstationed adjacent the applicator wheel, guide members supported adjacent the opposite sides of the applicator wheel having their guiding surfaces adjacent to and elevated with respect to the upper periphery of the applicator wheel to guide the sheet material over the wheel, one of the guide members being adjustably fixed to said adjusting support member whereby said guide member can be moved toward and away from the other guide member, shaft guide means carried by each of the guide members, a shaft engaging the shaft guide means whereby at least one of said shaft guide means may be moved relatively to the shaft when the adjustably fixed guide member is moved, and a pressure roller mounted on said shaft for frictional engagement with the sheet material passing over the applicator wheel.

6.'Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein, two applicator wheels are mounted over the container on the same rotational axis, and means is provided for axially adjusting the wheels with respect to. each other to accommodate sheet material of varying widths.

7. Apparatus for applying adhesive to an arcuate piece of sheet material which comprises, a support structure having a lower support shelf and a container for adhesive positioned above said shelf, an applicator wheel rotatably mounted on said support structure with its lower portion within said container in an immersed relation with respect to the adhesive, a motor secured on said shelf beneath said container and operatively connected to said applicator wheel to rotate it within said container and pick up adhesive, a first side guide member projecting upwardly from and being secured in position with respect to said support structure, a second side guide member projecting vertically-upwardly in a laterally-spaced relation with said first side guide member and being in a supported position with respect to said first side guide member above said support structure, said first and second side guide members being constructed to position the arcuate sheet material therebetween to overlie an upper peripheral portion of said applicator wheel and receive adhesive therefrom, a shaft projecting laterally of said first side guide member towards said second side guide member, a pressure roller mounted on said shaft and positioned for rotative movement within the lateral spac ing between said side guide members to wipe the arcuate sheet material with the adhesive when the material is positioned over the upper peripheral portion of said appli cator wheel, a collector shield mounted on said support structure and projecting vertically-upwardly from said container and laterally of the periphery of said applicator wheel to return adhesive to said container, and said second side guide member and said support structure having cooperating adjustment portions, so that said second side guide member may be adjusted laterally with respect to said first side guide member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 346,992 Glazier Aug. 10, 1886 941,530 McKibbin Nov. 30, 1909 1,654,214 Evans Dec. 27, 1927 

